Standard 1 CSTP: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
Element 1.1 Emerging Exploring
Learns about students Gathers additional data to
through data provided by learn about individual
the school and/or students.
assessments.
Using knowledge of
students to engage
them in learning Some students may Students engage in single
engage in learning using lessons or sequence of
instructional strategies lessons that include some
focused on the class as a adjustments based on
whole. assessments.
On the first day of class, I
usually have students fill
out a questionnaire about
their interests, habits,
etc…
I especially try to find out
about their daily routine:
“How long does it take you
to get to school in the
morning?” “Do you eat
breakfast?”
I use this info to tailor my
Evidence lessons. From the
questionnaire, I may find
out that they like certain
music performers, TV
programs, and games, and
so I know going forward
that if I want to make
something relevant to
them, relating it to one of
those may help.
9/30/2019
Applying
Uses data from a variety of
formal and informal
sources to learn about
students and guide
selection of instructional
strategies to meet diverse
learning needs.
Students engage in
learning through the use of
adjustments in instruction
to meet their needs.
The course of this year has
been a process of
trial-and-error and fine
tuning of strategies to find
a sweet spot between
what’s popular and
engaging and at the same
time achieving goals and
building skills according to
the CCC standards. Part
and parcel of that has been
collaborating and
coordinating with the
other ELA teachers, both
at the grade level I teach
and the one the year prior.
My grade-level colleagues
have been a consistent
source of new ideas and
inspiration, the best
example of which was the
“speed dating”
characterization activity.
I’ve also communicated
regularly with Grade 10
teachers to ensure I’m not
repeating areas that have
Integrating Innovating
Uses data from multiple Uses comprehensive
measures to make knowledge of students to
adjustments to instruction make ongoing
and meet individual adjustments and
identified learning needs. accommodations in
instruction.
Students actively utilize a
variety of instructional Students take ownership
strategies and of their learning by
technologies in learning choosing from a wide
that ensure equitable range of methods to
access to the curriculum. further their learning that
are responsive to their
learning needs.
I have used impetus from
my FOTIP mentor and
semester 3 FOTIP
coursework to
incorporate more
technology in my lessons.
Part of that initiative has
been using Google Forms,
Padlet, Kahoot,
Hypothesis, and
WordItOut to gather data
to assess students’
comprehension of core
concepts and adjust
instruction as necessary
and meet individual
students’ learning needs.
November 2020
Standard 1 CSTP: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
Element 1.2 Emerging
Develops awareness of
prior knowledge, culture,
backgrounds, life
experiences, and interests
represented among
students.
Connecting learning
to students’ prior
knowledge,
backgrounds, life
experiences, and
Some students connect
interests
learning activities to their
own lives.
been covered extensively
before.
5/8/2020
Exploring Applying Integrating Innovating
Uses gathered Uses school resources and Integrates broad Develops and
information about family contacts to expand knowledge of students systematically uses
students’ prior understanding of and their communities to extensive information
knowledge, cultural students’ prior inform instruction. regarding students’
backgrounds, life knowledge, cultural cultural backgrounds,
experiences, and interests backgrounds, life Students are actively prior knowledge, life
to support student experiences, and interests engaged in curriculum, experiences, and
learning. to connect to student which relates their prior interests.
learning. knowledge, experiences,
and interests within and
Students participate in Students make across learning activities. Students can articulate
single lessons or connections between the relevance and impact
sequences of lessons curriculum, and their of lessons on their lives
related to their interests prior knowledge, and society.
and experiences. backgrounds, life
experiences, and
interests.
Standard 1 CSTP: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
In addition to the
questionnaire I
mentioned in 1.1, I make
it a point to engage
students in conversations
when they are in the
classroom before and
after the class period. I
ask them questions about
their schoolwork,
extracurricular interests,
sports, personal style
(clothes, shoes,
accessories) and other
areas they may likely
have interests in. I try to
Evidence show them that I’m
paying attention to who
they are and am curious
about their lives.
September 2019
Element 1.3 Emerging Exploring
Uses real-life connections Explore using additional
during instruction as real-life connections to
Connecting subject identified to curriculum. subject matter in single
matter to lessons or sequence of
meaningful, real-life lessons to support
contexts understanding.
Baby steps here, but I see
some progress. I have
reached out to Student
Services (they provide
counseling) in the cases of
two students who have
had ongoing issues, and in
addition I have had
private meetings and an
ongoing dialogue with a
student whose
performance is
outstanding but has
personal issues she wants
to discuss. My outreach to
the counselors resulted in
one of the students’
attendance improving
dramatically and a slight
uptick in academic
performance. The girl
with personal issues
reached out to me via
colleagues and Student
Services, and our
conversations have been
mutually beneficial. She
has given me insight into
her own thinking as well
as that of the students as
a whole.
May 2020
Applying
Integrates connections
from subject matter to
meaningful, real-life
contexts, including those
specific to students’
family and community.
One way I've sought to
learn about and connect
students' prior
knowledge, backgrounds,
life experiences, and
interests is through
varied warm-up activities.
An example is the
"Agree/Disagree" 4
corners game, in which
students respond to a
series of statements by
moving to a corner of the
room that represents
their level of agreement
with each statement:
Agree, Disagree, Strongly
Agree, Strongly Disagree
(these are posted on the
walls in each corner of the
room).
October 2020
Integrating Innovating
Integrates connections to Engages student in
meaningful, real-life actively making
contexts in planning connections to relevant,
subject matter instruction meaningful, and real-life
and is responsive during contexts throughout
instruction to engage subject matter
students in relating to instruction.
subject matter.
Standard 1 CSTP: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
Some students relate
subject matter to real-life.
I don’t have any empirical
data on whether my
attempts to tailor lessons
to the students’ interests
are successful. I’m in the
midst of devising some
way of assessing this,
perhaps through some
kind of questionnaire or
activity. I can gauge
reactions, though, when I
make a cultural reference
based on what I’ve
learned about them;
whether the reference
reached and had an
impact on them.
Evidence September 2019
Students make use of
real-life connections
provided in single lessons
or sequence of lessons to
support understanding of
subject matter.
There is occasional
concern from students
and even parents about
whether the curriculum is
preparing them for
standardized tests like
SAT and IELTS. I have
made a concerted effort
to demonstrate how the
student-centered
activities I deploy, and the
eliciting-knowledge
philosophy underlying
them, develop
comprehension and
analytical skills crucial to
these kinds of tests.
Additionally, when
incorporating cultural
references into lessons
and choosing materials, I
strive to make choices
reflective of students’
background and
interests. For example,
from previous activities
and conversations, I
learned that many of
them like horror-themed
movies and TV shows. In
response, as a
supplement to a lesson on
literary foreshadowing, I
showed a clip from ​The
Others,​ a gothic-style
horror movie with Nicole
Students utilize real-life Students actively engage Students routinely
connections regularly to in making and using integrate subject matter
develop understandings real-life connections to into their own thinking
of subject matter. subject matter to extend and make relevant
their understanding. applications of subject
matter during learning
activities.
My warm up and exit
ticket activities frequently
draw on cultural
references and real-life
contexts relevant to
student’s lives, and tie
those to the daily lesson
topic. For example, in the
four corners
Agree/Disagree activity,
students respond to a
series of statements
written to elicit their
opinion on topics about
current events , school
life, and popular culture
that are meaningful to
them.
Additionally, I use videos
they are likely to respond
to to illustrate and give
examples for core
concepts; for example, in
a lesson on Achilles’ Heel
in characterization, I
showed a clip of Eddard
Stark from ​Game of
Thrones​ showing that his
fatal flaw is that he is too
trusting.
November 2020
Standard 1 CSTP: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
Element 1.4 Emerging
Uses instructional
strategies, resources, and
technologies as provided
by school and/or district.
Using a variety of
instructional
strategies, resources,
and technologies to
meet students’
Some students participate
diverse learning
in instructional strategies,
needs
using resources and
technologies provided.
Kidman (also an actor
they were likely to
recognize and feel affinity
for).
May 2020
Exploring
Explores additional
instructional strategies,
resources, and
technologies in single
lessons or sequence of
lessons to meet students’
diverse learning needs.
Students participate in
single lessons or
sequence of lessons
related to their interests
and experiences.
Applying Integrating Innovating
Utilizes a variety of Creates, adapts, and Refines the flexible use of
strategies including integrates a broad range an extensive repertoire of
culturally responsive of strategies, resources, strategies, resources, and
pedagogy, resources, and and technologies into technologies to meet
technologies during instruction designed to students’ diverse learning
ongoing instruction to meet students’ diverse needs.
meet students’ diverse learning needs.
learning needs.
Students participate in Students actively engage Students take
instruction using in instruction and make responsibility for using a
strategies, resources, and use of a variety of wide range of strategies,
technologies matched to targeted strategies, resources, and
their learning needs. resources, and technologies that
technologies to meet their successfully advance their
individual students needs. learning.
Standard 1 CSTP: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
If I were able to highlight At their most engaging
in between exploring and and student-centered, the
applying, I would do so. I learning activities I’ve
go out of my way to locate designed have been well
materials - activities, matched to the students’
visuals, videos, sites - that learning needs. The
I believe will help spark characterization speed
student interest. Also, dating, chat stations, and
depending on the level of Socratic circle discussions
the students I am are examples of this; after
teaching, I may change or these activities, I saw a
add/subtract marked improvement in
components. For students’ comprehension
example, I currently teach of the underlying core
three sections of grade 11 concepts.
ELA; though they are not
formally tracked, one October 2020
Evidence section is of students
taking advanced science
and math as electives;
another is of students
who are generally
somewhat difficult to
motivate and go off-task
easily. For both, I might
use analysis of a short
video clip as a warm up,
but they might be
different clips or, if the
same, I ask the sections
different questions on a
response sheet.

9/30/2019

Element 1.5 Emerging Exploring Applying Integrating Innovating

Asks questions that focus Includes questions in Guide students to think Supports students to Facilitates systematic
Promoting critical on factual knowledge and single lessons or a critically through use of initiate critical thinking opportunities for student
thinking through comprehension. sequence of lessons that questioning strategies, through independently to apply critical thinking
inquiry, problem require students to recall, posing/solving problems, developing questions, by designing structured
solving, and interpret, and think and reflection on issues in posing problems and inquiries into complex
reflection critically. content. reflecting on multiple problems.
perspectives.
Standard 1 CSTP: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
Some students respond to Students respond to
questions regarding facts varied questions or tasks
and comprehension. designed to promote
comprehension and
critical thinking in single
lessons or a sequence of
lessons.
I am constantly
questioning my students
throughout the class
period; overseas, some of
them aren’t used to such
an approach and at times
there’s some resistance. I
also cold call a lot, and
make an effort to
distribute calls randomly.
For the most part they
have been responding
Evidence favorably, but it is a work
in progress and I tweak
my approach regularly.
One adjustment I may
adopt based on another
teacher’s practice is
rolling a multi-sided die
or using some sort of
randomizer for calling on
students.
9/30/2019
Element 1.6 Emerging Exploring
Implements lessons Seeks to clarify
following curriculum instruction and learning
Monitoring student guidelines. activities to support
learning and student understanding.
adjusting instruction
while teaching.
Students respond to Students pose problems Students pose and answer
questions and problems and construct questions a wide-range of complex
posed by the teacher and of their own to support questions and problems,
begin to pose and solve inquiries into content. reflect, and communicate
problems of their own understandings based on
related to the content. in depth analysis of
content learning.
One example of how I
achieved something along
these lines was an activity
related to teaching ​Lord
of the Flies​. Students were
tasked in groups with
analyzing examples of
codes of conduct from
various sources, then
devised a code of conduct
of their own for the boys
stranded on the island in
the novel.
November 2020
Applying Integrating Innovating
Makes ongoing Adjusts strategies during Makes adjustments to
adjustments to instruction based on the extend learning
instruction based on ongoing monitoring of opportunities and
observation of student individual student needs provide assistance to
engagement and regular for assistance, support, or students in mastering the
checks for understanding. challenge. concepts flexibly and
effectively.
Standard 1 CSTP: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning
Some students receive Students receive Students successfully Students are able to Students monitor their
individual assistance assistance individually or participate and stay articulate their level of progress in learning and
during instruction. in small groups during engaged in learning understanding and use provide information to
instruction​. activities. teacher guidance to meet the teacher that informs
their needs during adjustments in
instruction. instruction.
One way to achieve this is As mentioned earlier, this Recently I adjusted my
exit tickets, which I use year has been a process of instruction mid-stream
occasionally but have fine-tuning and when, after a diagnostic
found difficult to adjustment based on Kahoot post-assessment
integrate on a regular direct feedback and quiz to see whether the
basis. One way to give observation of students' students’ understood key
myself more time for engagement and interest plot points and thematic
tasks at period’s end to during learning activities. ideas in “The Story of an
assess what the students It was in response to this Hour,” it was clear to me
have learned would be to that I changed the circuit that further teaching and
reduce the amount of of warm up activities I’d practice were necessary
time I spend talking; as been offering; I had the before moving on to the
Evidence we learned first day in students complete a next stage of the learning
ESL certification in a questionnaire on unit. In response, I read
game of Hangman, favorites and least the story aloud, pausing
“Talking isn’t teaching.” favorites, through which I to engage the students in
learned that some were question-and-answer to
9/30/2019 disliked by a significant elicit their understanding
number. of critical ideas and
elements of the story.
5/8/2020
November 2020